Fun
for the Whole Herd Starts at Frogtown
This
Saturday, May 10th!
Have you “herd” of
us? This Saturday, May 10, at Frogtown, Copper
Hills 4-H members will participate in alpaca course competitions, goats and
dogs judging with other 4-H groups in the county. They are looking forward to having a chance
to show all they have learned so far this season. Please come and watch
the fun!
On
February 23, 2014, we were at an alpaca meeting for Copper Hills 4-H at the
Rohrbaugh’s house. We were also
accompanied by the Valley Springs 4-H Alpaca group members to get to know each
other and share tips before the fair.
During our visit, I got to ask a few questions from Valley Springs 4-H
member, Morgan Danfelt. Morgan is the
Jr. Group Leader for their alpaca group and is the daughter of the alpaca group
leader. Morgan is 14 years old and has
been in 4-H for two years. She has and
is participating in many groups such as Rabbits, Goats, Beef, Horses and of
course, Alpaca. Morgan has a very lovely
Hucuaya named Angel. While I got to
interview her, I asked what does she plan to achieve this year? She said, “I plan to rank first in
showmanship because it’s what my alpaca struggles with the most, but we plan to
work very hard and he is getting better at it.”
Now we all have to agree that’s some determination because showmanship
can be very challenging!!! I also asked
her how her fellow group members have helped her achieve more this year. She says, “They give me great ideas and tips
to help improve work that I would most likely never have come up with.” What a helpful group. To me, they sound like true allies at
heart. Now to show an alpaca, you have
to have a good relationship with them and gain their trust. So with that, I asked her what her favorite
thing is about her alpaca? She answers,
“I like how he is willing to do everything I ask him He trusts me so much it makes me have more
trust in him.” Now that’s a bond every
alpaca owner would love to have with their alpaca because rust is key. Followed by that question I ask, “How do you
think working with your alpaca helps your alpaca? And how has he influenced you?” She says, “How it helps him is to get used to
the other alpacas knowing that he was raised alone in a pasture with no
herd. This influenced me to be more
careful and nicer to Angel with more respect because my old alpaca would be
reluctant and spit constantly.” Knowing
that she is Jr. Leader, and her mom is group leader, I ask how has her group
leader helped her learn more about alpaca.
She responds, “By meeting new groups, and learning new things when
visiting new places.”
I
also asked about her future plans in 4-H?
She answers, “To
use my 4-H experience in the future like if a friend needs
help with a goat. My past 4-H experiences
will let me
help her properly.” I think our meeting
went great because
even her responses helped me a bit. I
hope you
learned
from this, too, so thank you and see if you’re interested
in 4-H!!!!!!!
By 4-H member: Pearl
Rollings
